We all know that little kids can be little "Hell-raisers" on occasion, but somewhere there's a place where all of those children can "just be kids" - no matter which home or horror movie they might spawn from. Happy Dreams Daycare is the setting for this 2013 short from CollegeHumor that just landed here at Rock Father HQ. New to me, perhaps not to you, but I'm sharing it anyway. After all, who knew that Damien from THE OMEN, those little cuties from John Carpenter's VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED and Stephen King's CHILDREN OF THE CORN, Samara from THE RING and Regan from THE EXORCIST where such big fans of the Necronomicon at story time?

Last month, as I stepped off a ski gondola and onto the ice-packed mountaintop approach to Schaffer's Camp restaurant near Lake Tahoe, I knew that something was really, really wrong with me. Just hours before, I was standing on the lakeshore (pictured above), and now I was heading for a farewell dinner along with other members of the media and our hosts from Kia Motors America as we celebrated the launch of their 2016 Sorento (reviewed here). What I'd originally thought was the result of drinking too much coffee throughout the day was pointing to something much worse, as a few folks asked me if I was ok - a stressed look no doubt starting to show through my body language. I tried holding out, but after informing the waitress that I wouldn't be dining with the group, I nearly passed out in the washroom before quietly slipping out and taking a seven-minute ride back down the Zephyr Express in complete darkness. At the foot of the slope, I would be taken via four-wheeler back to the Ritz-Carlton for what became perhaps the most frightfully painful night of my life. I texted my wife. I got some meds from the concierge, and I shivered through the night despite the warmth of the fireplace. I should've gone to the hospital.

"Just like Daddy, I have a feeling that she'll come to love the Star Wars universe through the original trilogy... and by the time the 2015 reissue of the 1977 original takes place, she'll be just the right age to experience it on the big screen for the very first time." - February, 2012

It was three years ago that I posted STAR WARS - Teaching The Force THE ROCK FATHERTM Way. Those three years already feel like a lifetime ago, as so much has drastically changed since that cold day when little Addie and I had our first big adventure with a Tauntaun and a Wampa outside. Written at a time when THE PHANTOM MENACE was being re-issued theatrically in 3-D as part of a now-discarded plan, I'd referenced a timeline that now no longer exists - a time when a 3-D reissue of the very first STAR WARS had been slated for this year. Instead, I won't be taking my daughter to see the film that Daddy and Mommy enjoyed as children, but taking my daughters (now plural) to see a brand-new adventure that we'll all witness for the first time as a family of four. When I posted that entry, few (if any) could've predicted that Lucasfilm and STAR WARS would be sold to Disney, and the adventures in a galaxy far, far away would continue in such a dramatic way.

THE ROCK FATHER is participating in the Every day, care™ Project from Whirlpool®as part of a sponsored campaign for Socialstars. #EveryDayCare

If you take even a passing glance at this site right now, you can see that Christmas is a big deal around here. Each year, around mid-November, I deck my virtual “halls” just as I deck the real ones here at home. As a big kid, the holidays have always been important to me as a magical time filled with sparkling lights, glistening snow and the festive sounds of the season. As parents, it's a chance for my wife and I to create lasting memories for our girls as we stake out new traditions while sprinkling as much of that “magic” into our little ones' lives as possible. Sometimes it's the little things that make the biggest difference, and it's not always things that we, as grownups, make note of.

THE ROCK FATHER is participating in the Every day, care™ Project from Whirlpool® as part of a sponsored campaign for Socialstars. #EveryDayCare

As parents, it's the little things that my wife and I do for our girls that will likely have the biggest impact on their lives – from shaping their opinions and habits, to helping guide them toward the right choices down the road. Reality is that we're winging it, just like everyone else – there is no road map for what we do, and each day brings its own set of struggles and triumphs. The constant is that we each play our own role in providing for the little ones. From my wife's long hours working outside the home to my weird schedule that often allows for minimal sleep, there's a yin to the yang that makes it all work. While the bigger whole may go unnoticed, it's the smallest parts that make the biggest differences.